A photo posted by Brittany Aäe (@__magneticnorth__) on May 31, 2016 at 5:55pm PDT

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“In this image these two women are at about the same stage in their pregnanies – 39 weeks. That is the gorgeous Tess Holliday looking boss on the left and me with a defined abs on the right. She is a voluptuous model and I am a sinewy mountain athlete,” she wrote alongside a photo of both of them.

“Both of us are shamed for our size – she for her roundness and me for my smallness. Both of us are having or had healthy pregnancies as validated by our healthcare providers. Both of us are making empowered choices about our personal health.

“Why does our society shame women whose bodies do not adhere to the narrow notion of false normalcy? Let’s instead keep our thoughts and words about other people’s size to ourselves. Pregnancy is tough enough without also being body shamed.”

Aäe is spot on. Pregnancy is hard enough with, you know, creating, growing and nurturing a human being, having impossible cravings, hormones all over the place and exhaustion, without having to worry about what every man and his dog in the street thinks about how you look.

Watch: Five things they don’t tell you about pregnancy. Post continues after video.

Holliday was a frequent victim of this during her pregnancy, with many including Ashy Bines criticising her size and position as a role model as well as calling her pregnancy “unhealthy”.

As Aäe says, the only opinion that should matter is the one of your qualified health professional, and your own.

The rest of the voices chiming in and the accompanying pressure need to stop — largely because there’s not even such thing as a ‘normal’ way to look when pregnant.

“Of course our society would say that a ‘nice cute protruding belly’ is fine. Even comments such as ‘You are glowing’ make us feel pressured to look a certain way when pregnant. The reality is that every woman and every body is different and each body reacts differently when pregnant,” says psychologist Leanne Hall. (Post continues after gallery.)

Pregnant or not, it’s advice we can all benefit from and take on board.

Were you body shamed during pregnancy?

Featured image: Instagram/@_magneticnorth

Inspirational celebrity body image quotes.

“I think that whatever size or shape body you have, it's important to embrace it and get down! The female body is something that's so beautiful. I wish women would be proud of their bodies and not dis other women for being proud of theirs!”Christina Aguilera. Image via Getty.“I really don't think I need buns of steel. I'd be happy with buns of cinnamon.”Ellen DeGeneres. Image via Getty."I’m proud of my body. My body weight will always be something that I’ll struggle with for the rest of my life, but I’m finally in a good place and learning to love me for me, and not somebody else's standards,"Image via Getty.

From our partner“For me, exercise is more than just physical—it’s therapeutic.”Michelle Obama. Image via Getty.“The fountain of youth [for me], let’s see…I guess it’s exercise, healthy diet, lots of water, lots of laughter, lots of sex—yes, sex, we need that as human beings. It’s healthy, it’s natural, it’s what we are here to do!”Cameron Diaz. Image via Getty."Nobody is perfect, so get over the fear of being or doing everything perfectly. Besides, perfect is boring. Today, instead of picking yourself apart in the mirror or with friends over drinks, start seeing your ‘imperfections’ as unique traits that give you character and dimension—because that's exactly what they are.”Jillian Michaels. Image via Getty."For me, getting enough sleep, drinking lots of water, having a healthy diet and staying away from alcohol are musts. It's so boring, I know, but doing those things really helps."Jessica Biel. Image via Getty.

From our partner“Working out for me is something I do when I feel like it. But it’s really about feeling good and taking care of my body rather than having to fit into any sort of model or anything like that. I try to eat well, and everything I do is really just to make me feel my best.”Lea Michelle. Image via Getty."I've always said, 'Eat clean to stay fit, have a burger to stay sane."Gigi Hadid. Image via Getty."I'm really proud of my curves, and I hope all you curvy girls out there are embracing yours too! It's important to work out and be the best version of yourself that you can be, but never feel like you have to be the skinniest girl in the room to be the prettiest. Be confident in yourself and you'll shine!”Kim Kardashian. Image via Getty.“If anybody even tries to whisper the word “diet”, i’m like, you can go f**k yourself.”Jennifer Lawrence. Image via Getty.